Daily AncestorLodger
Lodger in a census means a person who rented a room in the household but took meals elsewhere, unlike a boarder, who also ate there.
The 1890 instructions told enumerators to distinguish between boarders, who sleep and board in one place, and lodgers, who room in one place and board in another. From 1900 a person who boarded in one place and lodged in another was counted where he lodged.
In practice enumerators often used the two words loosely. By 1950 lodger was the catch-all answer for anyone unrelated to the head when no more specific term fit.
As seen in a recordRelationship column of the 1880 to 1950 census
Kowal, Stanley | Lodger | M | W | 28 | S
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Lodger." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/census-terms/lodger. Last checked 2026-10-03.